Mine-door.



No. 640,95I. Patented lan. 9, |900.

A. S. ROBINSON.

IMNE DOOR (Application lled May 3, 1899.)

(No Model.)

MN QQ K7/4% INVENTOR .Ilmos oZv': 15cm/- UNrTnn STnTns PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS S. ROBINSON, OF NEIJSONVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONEel'IALF TO JOHNROBINSON,

OF SAME PLACE.

MINE-DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Eatent No. 640,951, dated January9, 1900. Application filed May 3, 1899. Serial No. 715,468, (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos S. ROBINSON, citizen of the United States,residing at Nelsonville, in the county of Athens and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mine-Doors, ot' whichthe following is a specification.

Myinven tion relates to the improvement of mine-doors and means foropening and closing the same; and it consists in certain improvements indetails of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be morefully pointed out hereinafter. These objects I accomplish in the mannerillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a planview of that portion of a railway-track which passes through aminedoorway, showing a transverse section of my improved doors, thelatter being shown closed in full lines and open in dotted lines. Fig. 2is a partial side elevation and partial sectional view taken on line a:m of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of oneof the trip-rails, showing the guide for the same; and Fig. 4 is asectional view online y y of Fig. 1.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.-

1 represents a car-track of that class which is adapted to mine-cars andwhich passes in the usual manner through a mine-doorway. This doorway isclosed in the present instance by vertically-arran ged andoppositelydocated doors 2, these doors being, through the medium ofvertical pivot-rods 3, centrally pivoted, the lower end of eachpivot-rod bearing in a suitable tie-socket 4 and the upper end thereofbearing in a cross frame-piece 5, which extends transversely over thetrack adjacent to the upper side of thedoorway, this framepiece beingshown in cross-section in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The door pivot-rods 3are arranged, as shown, on opposite sides of the track l, and the doorssupported thereon are of such width that when the same are turned inwardover the track-rails and in horizontal alinement with each other theypractically close the space between said pivot-rods. Be-

neath the central portion of each of the doors 2 the rod 3 carries apulley-wheel G. At points on opposite sides of the track 1 and on theouter sides of the rails thereof and on the inner and outer sides of thedoors 2 I provide triprails 7. That end of each of the triprails whichis toward or nearest to the doorway is, as indicated more clearly inFigs. l and 2 of the drawings, turned downward, said downturned endbeing pivoted eccentrically to the inner face of a pulley-wheel 8, whichis suitably journaled adjacent to the outer side of the track-rail. Thejournal-pin 9, on which said pulley-wheel 8 is mounted, has looselymounted thereon one end of a weightarm 10, the latter being adapted tobear normally against a ground-block 11, which is arranged beneath thewheel 8 and slightly out of vertical alinement with the center thereof.The outer end of each of the trip-rails 7 is provided with a transversepin 12, the outer 'end portion of which carries a small rollerwheel 13and the inner projecting end portion of which extends loosely within thelongitudinally-slotted opening 14 of a guide-bar 15. This guide-bar,which is angular in crosssection, has its outer and inner end portionsformed horizontally and supported at different heights, said outer andinner end portions being connected by an inclined central portion 15a.As indicated in Fig. 2, the rollerwheel 13 is adapted to bear and travelupon the outwardly-extending lower wing or ange of the bar 15. Owing tothe fact that the inner end or that end of each of the bars 7 which istoward the doorway is connected with the normally upper portion of thepulleywheelSand that said wheel is arranged to project slightly abovethe tread of the track it will be seen that said trip-bars will benormally inclined, as indicated. Each of the wheels 8 is provided in itslower portion. with an outwardly-projecting pin or lug 16, which isadapted to engage the lower side of the weight-arm 10.

On each side of the track 1 and adjacent to the outer side of the railsthereof I journal a trip-frame 17, one of these trip-frames beingarranged between each pair of the trip-rails 7 and extending through themine-doorway. Each of the trip-frames 17 consists in an outer horizontalrod 18, which is parallel with the track-rails and which is journaled insuitable bearing-brackets 19, which rise from the 'ties IOO 20, andfurther consists in an inner parallel frame-bar 2l, which is arrangedadjacent to the outer side of the track and which is connected with saidrod 18. With each of the frames 17, formed as above described, isconnected one or more outwardly projecting weight-arms 22, the weightedouter ends of which serve to hold the frame-bars 21 at such height abovethe tread of the adjacent trackrail as to admit of the v depression ofsaid frame-bars by Contact therewith of the projecting treadportions ofthe car-wheels. As indicated more clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings, Iemploy comparatively small pulleywheels 23, which are journaled inbrackets 24:, one pair of which are made to project from a tie extensionor end portion at points between the wheels 8 and 6.

25 represents an endless pulley rope or cord, one of which is employedon each side of the track, said pulley-rope passing over thepulley-wheels 8, thence against the smaller pulley-wheels 23, and havingits central portion provided with one turn about the centralpulley-wheel 6. This cord is connected at one point with each of thepulley-wheels 8 and 6.

The normal positions of the doors 2 is that indicated in Fig. 1, inwhich figure said doors are shown closed or turned inward across thetrack. In order to illustrate the operation of my door-openingmechanism, we will assume that a mine-car is approaching on the trackand in either direction. The contact of the wheels of this car with theupwardly projecting and inclined trip-arms 7 results in imparting apartial rotation to the wheels 8, with which said depressed trip-armsare connected, and through the connection of the operating rope or cord25 with the wheels 6 and 8 it is obvious that a rotary movement will beimparted to said Wheels 6, which results in a swinging of the doors 2 topositions parallel with the trackerails, such as are shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In this manner the doors areautomatically swung open to admit of the passage of the car through thedoorway from either direction. Before the rear wheels of the truck haveleft the triprails 7 the forward wheels thereof are in contact with andhave depressed the frame-bars 21, which results in a tipping of theframe 17 until the Weight-arms 22 are elevated to the position indicatedin Fig. 4: of the drawings, in which position said weight-arms will comein contact with the inner sides of the lower portions of the doors 2 andprevent the latter from swinging back to their former positions untilthe car has passed through the doorway.

It is obvious that in the partial rotation imparted to the pulley-wheels8, as above described, the contact of the weight-arms 10 of said wheelswith the projecting pins 16 thereof must result in said weight-armsbeing raised during the depression of the trip-rail 7; but when the car-has passed or is out of contact with said trip-rails and out of contactwith the frame-bars 21 it will be seen that the dropping of theweight-arms 10 will serve to return the operated pulley-wheels 8 and 6to their normal positions, which results in the doors again beingreturned to the closed positions indicated in Fig. 1. It is evident thatthe depressing of the trip-rails 7 through contact of the car-wheelstherewith must also result in an inward or forward movement of saidtrip-rails, and in this movement the rollen wheels 13 will serve asantifrictional bearings for the normally low ends of said trip-rails.

From the construction herein shown and described it will be seen thatsimple, reliable, and effective means are provided whereby the openingand closing of mine-doors may be quickly and effectively accomplished.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a mine-door, the combination with a car-track extending through adoorway, of door-sections 2 pivoted on opposite sides of said track, apulley-wheel carried on each of said door-sections, pulley-wheels 8journaled adjacent to the track-rails, trip-rails 7 one of which iseccentrically connected with each of said pulley-wheels 8 at one end andat its remaining end is provided with a sliding support and anoperating-rope connecting said door-wheels and pulley-wheels 8,substantially as specified.

2. In a mine-door, the combination with a car-track running through adoorway, doorsections 2 pivoted on opposite sides of said track andadapted to swing over the rails of said track, a pulley-wheel carried oneach of said door-sections, pulley-Wheels 8 journaled adjacent to thetrack-rails on the inner and outer side of said doorway, a weight-armloose on the shaft of each of said pulley-wheels and adapted to engage aprojection of the latter, trip-rails each of which has one of its endseccentrically connected with one of said wheels 8 and its remaining endprovided with a sliding bearing and operating-ropes connecting thewheels 8 and said door-wheels, of frames 17 fulcrumed on the outer sidesof the track-rails and extending through the doorway, each of saidframes having an inner tripbar adjacent to the track-rail andoutwardlyproj ectin gweight-arms,substantially as speciiied.

AMOS S. ROBINSON.

In presence of- JOHN L. ROBINSON, W. G. HIOKMAN.

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